Mumford Watch: City to merchants: Stock up for Mumford

Saturday

Correction: The spelling of St. Augustine Police Chief Loran Lueders has been corrected. Updated at 5:34 p.m. Aug. 27, 2013.

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At the Mumford & Sons Gentlemen of the Road Stopover Tour last August in Bristol, Va., an area of the city ran out of food.

St. Augustine Comptroller Mark Litzinger told that story Thursday night to a dozen King Street merchants interested in luring their way some of the predicted 25,000 fans attending the coming two-day event. "Make sure you stock up," Litzinger said. "At the one-day stopover at Bristol, which drew 17,000 fans, the beverage concession made $25,000."

The merchants were hosted at Whetstone Chocolates by owner Virginia Whetstone and husband, Bruce Maguire, a former St. Johns County commissioner.

Maguire said, "How are the 25,000 people going to know that there's something going on (at this end) of King Street? We want them down here to buy things."

Others worried that their employees may not have access to their homes and businesses because many streets and neighborhoods will be blocked by police.

St. Augustine Police Chief Loran Lueders said anyone going home can show an officer a driver's license and be allowed through. Also, employees working downtown can show a business card and get through. The city will also get special residential hanger passes for rearview mirrors to neighborhoods most affected by the show.

"King Street will remain open, but some neighborhoods to the south of the event will be closed," he said. "Both nights, anything north of Cathedral will be restricted. Both nights, from 8 to 10 p.m. (St. Augustine) will be a ghost town. Everyone's going to be at the event."

West Castillo Drive will have nothing but shuttle bus traffic and thousands of pedestrians.

Ryan Murphy, general manager of St. Augustine Amphitheatre, said local bands will play at selected sites around the city to create a musical atmosphere and a sense that something special is happening.

"We haven't worked out yet what staging areas would be appropriate," Murphy said. "We want to showcase local musicians. It's the spirit of the event, when done tastefully and organized."

Gabriel Pellicer, production manager for the county's Cultural Affairs Division, said the shuttle system at Bristol was "completely screwed up."

Communications were part of the problem.

He added, "We're going to keep everyone as up to date as possible."

Murphy told the merchants that he had heard that some business owners were planning to close up and leave town.

"We need to tell everyone to stock up and stay open later. We've been meeting with local restaurants and advising them to shorten their menus and offer fun food," he said.

Litzinger said the city's goal is to protect the quality of life of St. Augustine residents and to capitalize on this event as much as possible.

The city didn't intend to make shows this big a regular occurrence, he said.

"Maybe it will happen never again, but maybe only once a year," he said. "That'll be decided by the City Commission. This one might not be perfect, but we have to start somewhere."

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An informational meeting will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sept. 3 at Casa Monica Hotel.

Or go to www.gotrstaug.com or www.staugustine-450.com.

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